There are a number of types of snowboard bindings, each type being more specifically suited to a particular style.
Therefore, with reference to so-called “artistic” snowboarding, more commonly known as “freestyle”, use is made of relatively soft boots that allow the user great freedom of movement, permitting great variations in the angle of the tibia relative to the foot. Such qualities are particularly appreciated for snowboarding on semicylindrical trails, which are more commonly known as “half pipes”.
By virtue of the flexibility of his boots, the snowboarder is able to adopt positions that are particularly inclined relative to the board. The relative flexibility of the boots also allows good perception of the sensations coming from the board. The use of such soft boots requires, however, the use of bindings that have a certain stiffness, particularly in order to withstand rearward bearing forces.
As regards so-called “downhill” snowboarding, requirements in terms of the precision of curves are all the more important, and therefore the bindings must have an even more accentuated stiffness.
Therefore, such bindings have a baseplate for mounting on the board and a highback for receiving the rear of the user's boot upper and the bearing forces of the rear of the leg. Such a highback may extend as far as halfway up the calf. The set of straps makes it possible to hold and to grip the boot inside the binding. Such straps generally pass over the front of the foot and at the instep and connect the two sides of the baseplate. More precisely, each strap generally consists at least one strap part that is fixed on the side of the baseplate. This strap part is able to interact either with a complementary strap part located on the other side of the baseplate or even with a fastening mechanism associated with the other side of the baseplate.
In order to adjust the longitudinal position of the strap part or parts on the boot, reasonably high over the instep or more or less to the front of the front end of the boot, an intermediate part is mounted on the baseplate and has the ability to pivot on an axis that is substantially transverse relative to the baseplate or relative to the lateral side of the boot. The strap part or parts are secured to this intermediate part.
Conventionally, such strap parts consist of a flexible material. In fact, such strap parts must be able to be offset on both sides of the binding in order to allow the user to insert his boot into the binding and then to close the straps over one another. In fact, the straps must be relatively flexible in order to be able to be offset easily, so as to clear the central space of the baseplate for insertion of the boot. The materials of the molded plastics type and foams may be used.
However, too great a flexibility of the strap parts may make them fragile.
Owing to the relative flexibility of the strap parts, they tend to fold down unexpectedly or to become wedged under the sole of the boot or even to become wedged between the highback and the boot when the binding is subjected to transverse movements, for example when the user steps into the binding or when the snowboard is being carried.
This tendency is further increased owing to the fact that the strap parts are generally equipped with a pad in the terminal portion, the purpose of this pad being to distribute and attenuate the pressure exerted by the strap on the user's foot. The presence of this relatively large mass at the end of the strap parts very easily gives rise to the flexible undulation of the latter. Moreover, the fastening mechanism and its component parts also have a mass that causes the strap parts to move in all directions.
Document DE-44,16,024 discloses a snowboard binding with strap parts that are articulated relative to a baseplate. The strap parts extend in the region of the articulation via rigid branches that are secured and at right angles relative to the strap parts, and lying in the inner space of the bindings. These branches are capable of receiving the bearing forces of the foot when the user steps into the binding. The strap parts are thus automatically positioned above the boot such that the user has only to carry out the operations of positioning the fastening means.
This solution has proved to be complex and totally unsuitable for bindings with strap parts that have the ability to pivot on an axis transverse relative to the baseplate. This solution also requires major modifications to the baseplate and to the straps as compared to a conventional, existing snowboard binding.